27 (and a half) weeks- The Downhill of an Uphill Battle

I am almost there.  I'm so there, I can't wait any longer. I am almost to the mark in my pregnancy where I can do whatever I want, act however I want, say whatever I feel like saying, waddle till I can't waddle anymore, cry, mope, be emotional, and I finally get to redeem myself of these actions with the phrase:

 "I'm 7 ( or 8 or 9) months pregnant! and it's July (or August or September)!

 I look forward to that time.

Honestly, I still feel pretty good.  I have the usual aches/grumpiness and towards the end of the day I am dead tired, but it's still the easiest pregnancy by far.  I joined a Baby Boot Camp (intense) exercise group back in April with my neighbor (who is also due in September with a boy).  Joining the group has helped me tremendously with weight gain and overall self-image.  I still run (surprise, surprise) in fact, I love running past the non-pregnant ladies at workout class or when the super fit mommy has to one up me, it's such a validation of everything that I've worked so hard to achieve. 

Lil' Bean is kicking away in my belly.  He does somersaults and has the hiccups.  His favorite spot (no surprise here) is sitting very close to the front of my belly.  I won't get anymore pics of him unless we splurge for a 3D ultrasound, but rest assured he's handsome like his daddy. Pip loves coming up to my belly and talking to Lil' Bean.  The other day, she got to feel him kick and was absolutely delighted.  B, on the other hand, is completely disinterested in the baby.  I'm not sure she realizes there's a baby in there.  She's my girl and I worry about how she'll handle Lil' Bean once  he gets here.  Speaking of Lil' Bean, I have not fully committed to his name.  Both Bobby and Pip call him by his "supposed" name.  I have not been able to do that. I don't know why it's so hard for me to call him by his "supposed" name.  Oh well, I like his name.  I can't bring myself to call him that...yet.

I've been working on Lil' Bean's quilt (I can't wait to post pics of the finished product) , carseat cover, and I plan on embellishing a few diaper rags while I'm at it.  We also bought a new nursery set.  This was a hard purchase for us.  Our current set is still good, but B still uses it as she isn't ready for a big girl bed.  Since Lil' Bean is our "last" baby, it made sense to go ahead and purchase a convertible crib and furniture that can grow with him as he gets older.  We got a great deal on some quality pieces so I don't feel too bad about buying nursery furniture for the last baby.  

I feel good and I can't wait to bring Lil' Bean into our family!

Outside and Inside

It's been awhile since I've updated our blog.  I have a good excuse.  I went out of town- twice (post on that later).  I'm growing a baby and taking care of 2 kids.  Oh, and we've been home improvement fools. 

 

The term "move-in ready" is a big ol' fat lie.  Nothing is "move-in" ready, even a brand new house.  This past May we celebrated our 1 year anniversary of living in our new home.  Since then, we've completely re-landscaped the front yard and finally did something with the front room. 

 

So here's what we've done so far to the OUTSIDE:

 

YARD 2012

 

YARD 2013

 When we moved in, we were left with the standard builder picks of the crappiest plants you could find just plopped down in the generic formation.  In the back growing bed, we took out the boxwoods and some other shrubs and the front bed we removed the 3 live oaks, 2 trees I can't remember the name of, and a random assortment of shrubs.  We also found lots of construction material:  bricks, slabs of wood, concrete, wires, trash, and lots of sand.  Bob worked really, really hard and we still have a few more plants to purchase, but the yard is pretty much done.  Bobby planted a magnolia tree, Japanese maple (I've always wanted one of those), day lilies galore, a crepe myrtle, azaleas, and roses.  It's so beautiful.  Everyday when I pull in, I smile because I know it's "our" yard.

And now for the INSIDE:

 

When you first walked into our home, you were greeted by what I lovingly refer to as: the dog's hideout or what it really was: the entryway/formal dining room.  It was basically an empty room with our old Provo basement carpet (to help catch dog hair), the piano, and the dog.  We knew we didn't want it to be the dog's room (ya think?) or the formal dining room. So instead, we made it our formal living room.  I slowly started purchasing furniture for the room and found a few accessories that I had packed away that matched my vision: a Pottery barn-esque room on a shoe string budget.  Bobby wanted to create the look of wainscoting along the bottom and a dark gray on the walls.  We bought 6 cans of paint: 2 shades of gray + an extra gallon of the decided shade, 2 shades of white, and a sample gray that turned out more taupe-y gray- what a pain! 

Imagine more accessories, a killer art piece created by yours truly above the piano, and these drapes in white. I love these drapes, but they won't be here until August (bummer).

 



 The entry way is almost 100%.  It's missing something that I can't quite put my finger on.

 This wall will have a couch (pictured below or some variation of that style) along with a gallery of artwork created by P and B.  We're also going to change out the lighting in the entry and living room for something more industrial/casual (pictured below or some variation of that style)

 

I love the front room now, where before I dreaded going in there.  One negative, is that Boo still hides out in there, but at least the room doesn't look like a storage room anymore.

We still have a few more projects up our sleeves:  nursery for Lil' Bean, B's "big" girl room, and the kitchen, but funds and lack of time have caused us to prioritize what needs to be done and what we want to have done.  Story of our life.